Discombobulated: To be thrown into a state of confusion.

Sunday, September 19, 2004

Easy Carnivores

I want to get a few of these Venus Fly Traps, I've even found out how to take care of them via this site.



The mechanism and speed by which this plant catches it's prey makes in unique in the plant kingdom.
Three trigger hairs can be found on each of the 2 lobed sides of the Venus Flytrap which make up the trap and any wandering insect that triggers two of these hairs is in deep trouble as the trap closes upon it and the spiky fringe creates a kind of prison. There is a built in mechanism which tells the plant that if only 1 hair is triggered it could be a false signal but if two are triggered it usually means dinner, the reason for this mechanism is that the plant uses a great deal of stored energy in closing the trap and so it doesn't want to waste it on false alerts.
Once the trap has a victim enclosed within it begins to close tighter and tighter until it is almost flat, although you can see the bulge where the insect is being squashed inside. The inner surface of the trap secretes an enzyme which dissolves the insect and the resulting liquid is re absorbed by the plant.



I like this tip:

Feeding
Venus Fly Traps require no feeding as the traps are pretty good at catching enough food for it's needs and too much food can cause problems. The pot should be flushed with clean water every month to keep the compost fresh.


Flush the pot. Right.

Anyone got an idea of where to find a place that sells them here in Hong Kong?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are things so bad that you need some man eaters to help you dispose of the evidence?

Scotsman

Mia said...

Are you suggesting I'm a messy eater?

Anonymous said...

No...just that you are looking for a way to get rid of men who demean you at dinner...

Scotsman